[StJacques]

There have been ongoing and, from all appearances, cooperative exchanges between the governments of Ecuador and Colombia over this issue, whose details surprise no one I would expect. The Venezuelan government has not responded publicly, in so far as I was able to determine from an earlier search of the El Universal (Caracas) web site.

[StJacques]

A Latin American Left Watch ping for you all.

Anyone wishing to be included on the ping list may either ping me from this thread or contact me via Freepmail.

[Stultis]

Turnabout is fair play. Suppose there are any insurgent groups in Venezuela that could use some help from Columbia? And since ol Hugo is assisting FARC, a narco-terrorist group, I 'spouse it'd be okey to use some of that anti-drug money from Washington against him.

[marron]

Ecuador has always been FARC's safe rear area.

Common FARC guerrillas keep their families on the Ecuadorian side of the border, and frequently visit them there. They take their R&R there, hanging out in the local taverns, they buy their supplies there in the local grocery and hardware stores. The police look the other way; I was told that as long as they don't show their weapons, they prefer not to get involved.

There are occasional shootouts in the bars, however, between Farc guerrillas and anti-Farc paras taking their day off in the same place at the same time.

Ecuadorian special police and military units do patrol, but they have a talent for uncovering guerrilla camps that have already been vacated; their primary interest is in dealing with Ecuadorian guerrilla-wannabes, not the real thing.

FARC guerrillas also invest their money on the Ecuadorian side, sometimes openly in their own names, sometimes through Ecuadorian partners, buying up farms, hotels, bars and so on. Ecuadorians comment that if a FARC guerrilla makes you an offer, you're not really in a position to haggle too much about the price.

Ecuadorian military and customs officers have been caught facilitating weapons and other supply transfers through Ecuadorian seaports to the interior, one Ecuadorian politician was assassinated by Colombian anti-Farc "paras" supposedly for his involvement in weapons trafficking to the guerrillas (as well as his involvement supposedly in recruiting Ecuadorian students into armed militant groups). Ecuadorian intel involvement in his murder might be supposed from the fact that the Colombian shooters were allowed to get away, and the only arrests made (rather quickly) were of local gophers who didn't know much.

Ecuador tries to walk down the middle, they don't want a guerrilla war spilling over the borders, and they don't have the muscle to face FARC even if they wanted to. And if you are well placed and well connected, there is money to be made by looking the other way as FARC supplies flow through Ecuadorian ports.

[Kitten Festival]

I'm glad Uribe is finally getting assertive about this with the two regional clown leaders who plague his eastern and southern borders. Both of Chavez and Palacios are idiots and malandros.

[StJacques]

This is an update to say, well; no news as of yet. Everyone will be waiting to see the results of the new round of voting.

There's really nothing up on the Mexican newspaper web sites worth discussing right now, they're in a holding pattern until the end of the week.

But just in case anyone thinks APPO is intending to abide by the decision of the teacher's union, take a look at these pics of APPO welders going around Oaxaca City and welding the gates shut of schools, with the obvious intent of keeping them shut in case the teachers vote to end the strike.